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Fourteenth Annual
Florida Electroacoustic Music Festival
April 7-9, 2005
University of Florida
Composer-in-Residence, Morton Subotnick
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Morton Subotnick is one of the United States' premier composers of electronic music and an innovator in works involving instruments and other media, including interactive computer music systems. Most of his music calls for a computer part, or live electronic processing; his oeuvre utilizes many of the important technological breakthroughs in the history of the genre.
The work which brought Subotnick celebrity
was Silver Apples of the Moon. Written in 1967 using the Buchla
modular synthesizer (an electronic instrument built by Donald Buchla utilizing
suggestions from Subotnick and Ramon Sender), this work contains synthesized
tone colors striking for its day, and a control over pitch that many other
contemporary electronic composers had relinquished. There is a rich
counterpoint of gestures, in marked contrast to the simple surfaces of much
contemporary electronic music. There are sections marked by very clear
pulses, another unusual trait for its time; Silver Apples of the
Moon was commissioned by Nonesuch Records, marking the first time an
original large-scale composition had been created specifically for the disc
medium - a conscious acknowledgment that the home stereo system constituted
a present-day form of chamber music. Subotnick wrote this piece (and
subsequent record company commissions) in two parts to correspond to the
two sides of an LP. The exciting, exotic timbres and the dance inspiring
rhythms caught the ear of the public -- the record was an American bestseller
in the classical music category, an extremely unusual occurrence for any
contemporary concert music at the time. It has been re-released on
Wergo cd with The Wild Bull.
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The next eight years saw the production of
several more important compositions for LP, realized on the Buchla synthesizer:
The Wild Bull, Touch, Sidewinder and Four Butterflies
. All of these pieces are marked by sophisticated timbres, contrapuntal rich
textures, and sections of continuous pulse suggesting dance. In fact,
Silver Apples of the Moon was used as dance music by several
companies including the Stuttgart Ballet and Ballet Rambert and
The Wild Bull, A Sky of Cloudless Sulfur and The Key to Songs,
have been choreographed by leading dance companies throughout the world.
In 1975, fulfilling another record company
commission, (this time, Odyssey) Subotnick composed Until Spring ,
a work for solo synthesizer. In this work, changes in settings which
Subotnick made in real time on the synthesizer were stored as control voltages
on a separate tape, enabling him to duplicate any of his performance controls,
and to subsequently modify them if he felt the desire to do so. While
the use of control voltages was nothing new, it suggested to Subotnick a
means to gain exact control over real-time electronic processing equipment.
The next step in Subotnick's use of control
voltages was the development of the "ghost" box. This is a fairly simple
electronic device, consisting of a pitch and envelope follower for a live
signal, and the following voltage controlled units: an amplifier, a frequency
shifter, and a ring modulator. The control voltages for the ghost box
were originally stored on a tape, updated now to E-PROM. A performer,
whose miced signal is sent into the ghost box, can then be processed by playing
back the pre-recorded tape or E-PROM, containing the control voltages.
As neither the tape nor E-PROM produce sound, Subotnick refers to their sound
modification as a "ghost score". By providing the performer with
exact timings, co-ordination between performer and the ghost score is controlled.
Two Life Histories (1977) was
the first piece involving an electronic ghost score; the bulk of Subotnick's
output for the next six years was devoted to compositions involving performers
and ghost scores. Some of the more notable works in this series include
Liquid Strata (piano), Parallel Lines (piccolo accompanied
by nine players), The Wild Beasts (trombone and piano), Axolotl
(solo cello), The Last Dream of the Beast (solo voice) and
The Fluttering of Wings (string quartet). The subtlety,
sophistication and control over real-time electronic processing that Subotnick
demonstrated in these innovative works secured his reputation as one of the
world's most important electronic music composers.
Subotnick reached the apex of live electronic
processing in his work Ascent Into Air (1981). Written for the
powerful 4C computer at IRCAM, this piece involved many of the techniques
which Subotnick had developed in his ghost scores. In addition to the
processing normally available to him with his ghost boxes, Subotnick was
able to spatially locate sounds in a quadraphonic field and to modulate the
timbres of the instruments. But perhaps the most significant aspect
of this work is its use of live performers to control the computer music;
the live performers, in effect, serve as "control voltages" to influence where
a sound is placed, how it is modulated and by how much, etc. -- the reverse
situation of the ghost score compositions. Even more remarkable is
the ability of traditional musical instruments to control computer generated
sounds. The sophistication of this control is currently unavailable
using the commercial MIDI devices which many electronic musicians, including
Subotnick, favor today.
Since 1985, Subotnick has been using commercially
available MIDI gear in works such as The Key to Songs, Return
and "all my hummingbirds have alibis". His more recent pieces
are also marked not only by pulse driven rhythms, but also by clear diatonic
melodies and harmonies. >
In addition to music in the electronic medium,
Subotnick has written for symphony orchestra, chamber ensembles, theater and
multimedia productions. His "staged tone poem" The Double Life of
Amphibians, a collaboration with director Lee Breuer and visual artist
Irving Petlin, utilizing live interaction between singers, instrumentalists
and computer, was premiered at the 1984 Olympics Arts Festival in Los Angeles.
The concert version of Jacob's Room, a
mono drama commissioned by Betty Freeman for the Kronos Quartet and singer
Joan La Barbara, received its premiere in San Francisco in 1985. Jacob's
Room, Subotnick's multimedia opera (directed by Herbert Blau with video
imagery by Steina and Woody Vasulka, featuring Joan La Barbara), received
its premiere in Philadelphia in April 1993 under the auspices of The American
Music Theater Festival. The Key to Songs, for chamber orchestra
and computer, was premiered at the 1985 Aspen Music Festival. Return,
commissioned to celebrate the return of Haley's Comet, premiered with an
accompanying sky show in the planetarium of Griffith Observatory in Los Angeles
in 1986. Subotnick's recent works -- among them Jacob's Room
, The Key to Songs, Hungers, In Two Worlds, And the
Butterflies Begin to Sing and A Desert Flowers --
utilize computerized sound generation, specially designed software Interactor
and "intelligent" computer controls which allow the performers to interact
with the computer technology.
Subotnick's recent works include:
3 CD ROMS; All My Hummingbirds Have Alibis (1994), Making Music (1996), Making
More Music (1998) and an interactive ‘Media Poem’, Intimate Immensity,
premiered at the Lincoln Center Festival in NY (1997). The European premiere
(1998) was in Karlsrhue, Germany. Echoes from the Silent Call of Girona
for string quartet and CD-ROM was premiered (1998) in Los Angeles by Southwest
Chamber Music.
In the Spring of 2001, Mode records released
a CD and DVD surround sound version of Touch, A Sky of Cloudless Sulfur and
a new work, Gestures: It Starts with Colors. He has been touring in
the US and Europe with live performances of the Gestures.
Currently, Subotnick holds the Mel Powell
Chair in Music at the California Institute of the Arts. He tours extensively
throughout the U.S. and Europe as a lecturer and composer/performer.
He is published by European American.
[bio by Christian Hertzog from Contemporary
Composers ]
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About the Florida Electroacoustic Music Festival
After thirteen years of service, the Florida Electroacoustic Music
Festival enters its 14th year of bringing together an international
rostrum of today's electroacoustic composers to present their
cutting-edge music. Past composers-in-residence have included world
renowned composers Hubert S. Howe, Jr., Cort Lippe, Gary Nelson, Jon
Appleton, Joel Chadabe, Larry Austin, Barry Truax, Richard Boulanger,
Paul Lansky, and James Dashow.
James Paul Sain and Paul Koonce, Co-hosts
Call for Works
A call for electroacoustic art music works that fit into one of the following categories:
media formats supported:
Audio
- CD
- 16 and 24 bit RDAT
- Tascam DA88/DTRS
- Alesis ADAT XT20
- 1/4" 1/2 track tape
- 1/4" 4-track tape
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Video (NTSC)
- DVD
- VHS
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for submitted work(s):
OCTOBER 15, 2004
Works using live performance must be accompanied by a tape of a performance or high quality realization.
All submissions must include performance materials in one of the media listed above, performance parts and/or a score, a brief biography (75-100 words), program notes (100 words or less), and required submission form. Biographies or notes in excess of the maximum will be truncated. Incomplete submissions will not be considered. Please indicate whether the composer can provide the performer(s). Contact information on the required submission form must include a phone number, address, and if available, an email address, web site, and fax number. A self-addressed stamped envelope (SASE) is required for the return of all materials (or international postal response return coupons). Materials not accompanied by a SASE will become property of the Florida Electroacoustic Music Studio.
Composers may submit no more than two compositions for performance consideration on the 14th Annual Florida Electroacoustic Music Festival.
Composers selected for performance are required to attend the festival; this is to provide the festival with a sense of community. The festival is unable to provide travel grants or honoraria.
Should a composer be unable to attend the festival their work will not be presented.
Call for Papers
A call for papers, studio reports, and lecture/demonstrations dealing with the technology, musicology, and/or aesthetics of electroacoustic music.
Submissions from all current areas of research are encouraged. Possible topics include: acoustic ecology, interactive composition/synthesis, algorithmic composition, new musical interfaces, and new synthesis/processing techniques. Authors selected will be given 30 minutes to present their paper (20 minutes for delivery, and 10 minutes for questions and answers).
for submitted paper(s):
OCTOBER 15, 2004
Three copies of the completed paper, studio report, or lecture/demonstration abstract must be accompanied by a brief biography of 75-100 words and a contact sheet (abstract and biography should be promptly available on data CD or via electronic transmission upon selection). Biographies in excess of the maximum will be truncated. Contact information sheet must include a phone number, address, and, if available, email address, web site, and fax number. All submitted papers will become part of the Florida Electroacoustic Music Studio Library.
SEND SUBMISSIONS OR INQUIRIES TO:
Dr. James Paul Sain, Director of Electroacousic Music
University of Florida School of Music
P.O. Box 117900/130 Music Bldg.
Gainesville, FL 32611-7900
(352) 392-0223 ext. 240/voice
(352) 392-0461/fax
( femf14@arts.ufl.edu)
More information on the electroacoustic music program at the
University of Florida and the Florida Electroacoustic Music Studio can
be found at:
The University of Florida is located in the North Central Florida city of Gainesville. Gainesville is served by Delta Airlines (via American Southeast Airlines), USAir Express and Northwest (service begins this fall). The city is approximately 2.5 hours drive by car from Jacksonville, Tallahassee, Orlando, and Tampa, Florida. Airport shuttle service can be provided by the festival hotel for transportation from/to the Gainesville Regional Airport (but not to other area airports).
submission form [pdf 277k] [pdf.hqx 312k] [pdf.sit 229k] [pdf.zip 225k]
Completed program will be availble in December, at http://emu.music.ufl.edu/femf/fest14prg.html
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